According to a recent study.

The amount of time kids spend looking at their smartphones is linked to their risk of developing pediatric eye disease, according to recent study in BMC Ophthalmology.

The research is based on the eye exams of 916 children in South Korea, all between 7 and 12 years old, who were also asked to disclose how much they use their phones and spend time outside.

Of the 60 children (or 6.6% of the sample) who met the criteria for dry-eye disease, a disorder that can impact vision, 97% reported using their smartphones for an average of 3.2 hours a day, and spending 1.5 hours a day outside. By comparison, 55% of the children who did not exhibit dry-eye disease reported using their smartphones for approximately 37 minutes a day, and spending an average of 2.3 hours a day outside.

The study’s findings suggest that kids who spend more time on their phone and less time outdoors may be more likely to exhibit symptoms of dry-eye disease; relatedly, when the sample abstained from using their smartphones for a month, their symptoms improved.

Screen Time May Be Affecting At-Risk Adolescents’ Behavior

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